Nordics
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www.criticalcomms.com March 2020
the question remains as to whether it is possible to make
improvements from a user perspective.
A considerable boost is expected from recent 3GPP/5G
non-terrestrial network (NTN) specification activities, which
are still at an early stage (as Release 17 efforts begin), to bring
the terrestrial and NTN communities closer together. Another
milestone will come from low-orbit mega-constellation
satellite frameworks.
The road to LTE
In Finland, MCMB project Virve 2.0 is in the procurement
phase but should be complete by 2022. Services will be
based on the mobile network operators’ (MNO) networks.
In Finland there is no dedicated spectrum reserved for
PPDR, but the spectrum allocated to MNOs will be used.
Finnish legislation obliges MNOs to provide priority
and pre-emption services for PPDR users, with a new
electronic communications services law coming into force
at the beginning of February this year to ensure service
availability and quality for users even in times of peak
network congestion.
Under the new system there will be one primary MNO,
while others will provide national roaming for PPDR users.
Suomen Erillisverkot Group, the state-owned operator of
the Virve TETRA network, has been appointed operator
of Virve 2.0.
The procurement process is now in the second of two
phases – the first covering a dedicated core network for
PPDR and MNOs’ radio access network services, the second
involving mission-critical applications defined by 3GPP
standards (MCPTT, MCVideo and MCData).
However, even upon completion it has been accepted that
the TETRA-based first generation of Virve will continue to be
used by the authorities and security services until at least 2025.
As for Norway, DSB is working on a concept study for
long-term replacement of Nødnett (present contracts expire
in 2026), provisionally named Next Generation Nødnett
(NGN). A dedicated broadband network for mission-critical
users is no longer an option since the decision in December
2017 to make Norway’s 700MHz band available for
commercial operators.
Mobile network operators Ice, Telenor and Telia have
proposed a number of solutions, including: a secure MVNO
with a state-owned core; a single turnkey provider using its
infrastructure and possibly national roaming; and several
competing turnkey providers. The most likely option looks
like being the ‘secure MVNO’ model where the state owns
the core network.
The Swedish approach to 4G migration differs from the
Finnish and Norwegian plans. In Sweden, part of the 700MHz
spectrum has been set aside to wait for a final decision on
its use. In a report from the Swedish Ministry of Justice, a
dedicated LTE network for PPDR use has been proposed.
The spectrum allocation would be 2 x 10MHz with an
additional 2 x 5MHz in the longer term – when the current
TETRA network, Rakel, is no longer operational. The initial
deployment will resemble that of Virve 2.0 in Finland, with
the Swedish network starting as an MVNO.
This approach involves a government-owned core
network with radio access services provided by MNOs. The
introduction of the dedicated radio access network will take
place step by step. In Sweden, the final decisions on spectrum
usage and the exact operational model of the MCMB
network are imminent.
Meanwhile, in Denmark, MCMB procurement is
yet to take place. The contract for the Danish TETRA
network (known as SINE) is due to expire in 2021 and the
IoT prospects
There are possibilities to use the Internet of Things (IoT) in public safety,
mainly by equipping first-responders with various sensors and using the
information to improve situational awareness without any additional human
intervention needed.
Sensors can detect an incident (perhaps a gunshot), track the bodily functions
of first-responders or give information about the environment (the chemical
composition of smoke, for example). Asset management and asset tracking
(inventory management) are other potential applications of IoT and RfID in the
public safety domain.
IoT is also the key to realising the vision of Industry 4.0 using 5G and
ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC). This is a major subject of
discussion at the moment, and Swedish cellular infrastructure vendor Ericsson
has implemented early versions of 5G in various facilities (including its own) to
boost automation, efficiency and productivity, not to mention helping to cut costs.
Finland is furthest
ahead in migrating
its emergency
services to
4G LTE, but
each country is
planning to rely
on commercial
mobile networks
for most of the
RAN infrastructure
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